Collapsible furniture crate



July 1, 19 0. F, RAU 1,769,389

COLLAPSIBLE FURNITURE CRATE Fil ed Jan. 6, 1928 Mum/QM IN V EN TOR.

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ATTORNEY Patented July 1, 1930 UNITED STATES ED A DE'RAU, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK COLLAPSIBLE FURNITURE cnaprr:

Application fiiea aanuar 'e, 1928. Serial No. 244,808.

This invention relates to improvements in collapsible or knock-down crates, primarily designed for shipping purposes, whereinfur niture of various kinds and forms may safe- 1y be packed and transported, whereupon the empty crates may be taken apart and packed in compact bundles, to be returned to the shipper for future use. As the freight rates for these knocked-down crates, occupying but 1 little space in the car, are a comparatively low item, this system results in a great saving not only of material and cost of labor but also of time, and furthermore offers greater convenience: and efficiency in handling shipments. v I

This invention aims especially at various improvements of the construction of a similar furniture crate for which a U. S. patent was granted tothe-applicant'on- June 21, 1927, under Number 1,633,354, and while therefor the different general objects of this invention are in the main identical with those of its prototype, there are nevertheless certain conditions for which this simplified form of'a crate is better adapted. A further saving in manufacturing costs is effected by a simplification and standardizing of parts."

.The primary specific object therefor isto procure a skeleton box crate of the collapsible '30 type, which combines with aminimum of material great rigidity and ability to withstand rough handling.

Another object is toimake the structural members of the simplest form, reduce their '35 variety to buta few itemsand make them as interchangeable as possible.

A third object is to simplify the mechanism and make the combination so easy and foolproof that any unskilled help is able to as- 40 semble or take apart the crate without explicit directions or previous training.

Other objects in compass with and following from the above noted objects will become evident from the present description.

of this invention, as mentioned above, was

to construct a box crate, adjustable in all directions, so that it-could be enlarged or contracted in all or'any of its three main dimensionsaiWhile this facility is. desirable,

One of the main objects of the forerunner of an extensible crate, built on the same genwhere a variety of goods'to be shipped is considered, there are instances where only standard articles of one and the same kind and size are to be crated- In such case this feature of adjustability is evidently super fluous and involves unnecessary expense and complication. One or a few different sizes of suitable crates of definite'volume are apparently preferably t-o 'meetthis' condition. y The present crate therefor, as shown in its preferred form, lacks'the feature of adjustability as to volume. "That however the exact new principles of construction can, with slight modificatiombe also extended and adapted to adjustable crates of-the formerly described class, will be shown and illustrated hereafter, and the scope of theclaimed. invention consequently covers this class of collapsible crates also. f .1 The former invention also showed'adjust able means whereby the furniture inside the crate might besecured or suspendeohso as to be held stationary and be kept clear from contact or impact from the outside; This feature is retained in the novel construction, though the means of achieving this purpose differ and'are attained by a rearrangement and novel application of parts, already utili'zed the outer construction of the crate; .VVith all these objects and modifications in viewthe invention consistsin the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described 'and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which I 1 v Figure 1 is a perspective view of a crate, embodying thezprinciples' of this invention; and'shown in assembled form.. Figure 2 is a perspectiveview of thetypical iron clasp or clamp'for'iconnecting two sections of the frame. 1

Figure 3'shovvs a modification of this clasp which may be used either instead of or in connection with the first form shown.

Figure iindicates an alternate form of this modified clasp necessary for certain conditions. Y 1 1 Figures 5 and 6-show the plan and the side view respectively of'a typical frame member I eral principle as the one shown in Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a top view of a clasp, used as a clamping iron on an interior suspension member of the frame.

The same or similar reference characters posed of solid wooden beams or slatsof rectangular cross section. In general they will be only of three different lengths for each particular crate, as may be verified by inspecting Figure 1, members'of opposite or parallel sides being of the same length. The interior or suspension members also fit into this classification, being parallel to the bottom or side members. This is an obvious advantagefor' the purpose of assembling or packing the knocked-down crate in bundles. Theiron'parts, used for erecting the crate, are also more or less uniform, consisting of a number of slotted clasps of angular shape, all more or less alike, which can neatly be tied in solid packages, and a number of simple bolts, nuts or washers, just as easily tied together or strung on cords. A further apparent advantage of this standardization and simplification of component partsis that in case of emergency, for instance, if parts ofthe crate are lost or broken, a substitute is easily found or provided and that changes or modifications in the location of members, necessitated by the contents tobe crated, may quickly be effected through the drilling of a few additional holes in the timber.

Referring to the drawing in particular, numerals 11, 12 and 13, indexed a or b, designate the slats, forming the panels of the crate, equal numbers indicating equal length dimensions. The edge members are named 11*, 12 and 13*, while 11 12 or 13" referto the middle'braccs. They consist of wooden beams of rectangular cross section, preferably flattened, and provided with the necessary bolt holes for the connecting clasps; These holes are drilled either a suitable short distance from the extreme ends, as 14: for the corner clasps 20, or, like 14 at suitable equal intervals throughout the length of the slats, for the fastening of similar clasps, which hold the middle braces 11", 12 and 13 in position. Where'cross braces 16 are used across the inner space of the crate, as supporting means for the secure free suspension of furniture, as before'mentioned, holes 16 are suitably provided for bolting on the clasps 20, which in turn keep the braces 16 in their proper place by means of through-bolts 22. Simultaneously these through-bolts serve asmeans to clamp down the slidably arranged upturned clasps 21 which are intended to grip the suspended furniture sidewise and hold it firmly in place, while at the same time the wooden braces 16 serve as supports for it. In the drawing many of the bolts are left out and only the holes for them indicated.

In the case that the location of the cross braces is not permanently determined for a certain staple article for which the crate is intended, a wide range of'adjustability can be provided by drilling a series of holes 16 through the panel slots supporting the interior cross braces 16.

The clasps 20, a typical sample of which is shown in Figure 2, consist of two parallel fiat bars, 20*, lying in the same plane and leaving a slot 20 between them, wide enough to pass the bolts 22 through. About in the middle these two bars are bent at right angles and at the extreme ends they are joined by short flat cross bars20 These cross bars may be separate pieces welded or riveted on, as shown at 20 or the whole combination, which as described, resembles a flat gridiron, bent over into a bracket form, may originally be punched out of one solid plate.

A modification of this preferred form of clasp is shown in the clasp 23, Figure 3, and it consists in letting the parallel main bars end in two sharp prongs, 23, protrudingbeyond the end cross-barand bent over at right angle in the same sense, as the bend in the middle of the flats is made. This modification is applied to onepair of legs of the clasp only, while the end of the other pair of legs is shaped as describedb'efore. These prongs take the place of one of the fastening bolts and can advantageously be used, where a protruding bolthead or nut would be in theway or inconvenient, for instance at the bottom of the crate or underneath the slidable interior clasps 21, holding the furniture. As these prongs can easily be driven into the wood, when they run parallelto the grain, but with. difficulty across it, it is obviously of advantage in some cases to form these prongs out of the ends of the cross bars, as shown at. 23 Figure 4, so as to fit the run of the grain.

Whileit will be found quite feasible to make all the clasps,even the interior clampnut could eventually pass through the slotv of the upright leg. Thiscan be effected, as Figure 7 shows, by making the slot width of the upright leg sutficiently wide (20 for the bolt head to pass through, while on the horizontal legs, fastened to the beam the slot tapers down to the normal width 20.

The reason, Why the clasps are formed as slotted brackets and not as simple angle plates, perforated for the bolts, is that in the first place the crate beams, being manufactured as cheaply as possible, are not likely to be of accurate fit and workmanship; in the second place the slots serve as a sort of shock absorbers in the case of violent handling or throwing about of the crates. It has been found that in case of too rigid connections which allow no play for the bolts or crate members, the shock or concussion is transplanted with full force to the contents and, for instance, in the case of mahogany furniture, easily causes cracks and peeling off on the veneers. With a crate construction, as shown however, a shock is gradually and partially absorbed through the many slotted connections, which, though with tightened bolts ordinarily rigid, will give enough under the force of impact to permit a momentary readjustment without jarring the whole contents too much.

Corner connections of three converging beams are easily formed, by the ends of three clasps overlapping each other, each bolt passing through one beam and two clasps on each panel side, as the illustration of Figure 1 shows.

Finally, if instead of using single crate beams of definite length, these beams, in each case, are composed of two halfs 25, perforated at intervals, as shown at 28, partly overlapping each other in the middle and held in slidable connection by a saddle late 26, through which a through-bolt 2 passes, adapted to firmly clamp the two halfs together, it is apparent, that with this slight addition, the crate is converted into an extensible crate, similar in its application to the one described in Patent Number 1,633,354.

Various minor changes in the form, proportion and details of construction may be made without departing from the general principle of the invention, and its scope has therefore to be judged not so much according to the drawings as to what is claimed as novel.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A collapsible shipping crate, formed of three sets of uniform rectangular beams, fitted respectively with their ends at right angles to each other, so as to form a rectangular skeleton box frame, a plurality of clasps, formed of fiat bars, slotted lengthwise and bent into right angle irons, adapted to form lap joints over said beams, and means to bolt the clasps to said beams.

2. A collapsible shipping crate, formed of exterior rectangular beams of solid cross section, forming three sets, differing in lengths, of relatively interchangeable beams, a pluralityof interior supports, formed of similar rectangular beams of solid cross section, in terchangeable with each other and with the exterior parallel beams, said supports being adapted to hold objects crated in fixed position, and connecting means, consisting of slotted rectangular brackets of the same pattern, interchangeable with each other and adapted to rigidly fasten said beams and supports at right angles to each other, forming thus all lateral and corner'connections forexterior and interior beams.

8. A collapsible crate, formed of a plurality of rectangular slats, a plurality of slotted clasps, bent at right angles so as'to' form connecting brackets between said slats,

adapted to serve as lateral edge connections and adapted thus to be adj ustably bolted over the butt ends of said slats and to serve as shock absorbing semi-rigid connections for said box frame. 5. The combination with a collapsible furniture crate, consisting of a plurality of rectangular wooden slats, fitted together so as to form a skeleton box frame; of a plurality of connecting clasps, formed of flat bars, joined together so as to form a slotted grid, bent at right angles into a bracket, 1

adapted to be bolted adjustably over thebutt ends and edges of said rectangular slats, and means to fasten said brackets rigidly into the grain of said wooden slats, sub-.

stantially as specified.

6. A collapsible box crate, formed of a plurality of rectangular solid slats and adjustable means, interchangeable with each other, to fasten the outer ends of said slats at right angles to each other and to the side edges of other slats, so as to form a skeleton box frame, said means consisting of a plurality of slotted clasps interchangeable with each other, overlapping the butt ends and edges of said slats and adapted to be adjustably bolted to them to form all lateral and corner connections.

7. In a collapsible box crate the combina tion with a plurality of uniform rectangular beams of solid cross section, forming three sets difiering in lengths and being interchangeable with each other within the same set respectively; of a plurality of uniform slotted clasps, interchangeable with each other and adapted to be bolted to said beams and to fasten them at right angles to each other so as to form the edges and corners of the box crate.

In testimony whereof, Ihave signed my name tothis specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, this third day of January, 1928.

EDWARD F. R-AU. 

